All posts tagged ‘meteor showers’

The Delta Aquarids and Perseids meteor showers overlap in the coming days, providing several great meteor shower viewing opportunities. The National Geographic website has some great tips on viewing the showers.

Beyond viewing, we are planning to physically capture some meteorites. Well, actually we are setting-up to capture micrometeors. We can’t wait to see what star and comet dust looks like under a microscope. Micrometeors are small, light, metallic, rocky debris left by comets and stellar explosions. The best time to capture these particles is shortly after a meteor shower event, so we have consulted the book 100 Amazing Make-It-Yourself Science Fair Projects book to guide us through the process.

Collecting your specimens

Gathering micrometeors sounds highly technical, but the procedure is straightforward and even younger children can participate. Place a glass pie plate outside for a few days before and after the meteor shower event to collect rainwater (the micrometeor particles fall to the ground attached to raindrops). If you live in a dry region, you can fill a pie plate with distilled water and collect micrometeors that fall to the ground attached to dust particles.

After you’ve successfully collected rainwater (or dust particles) for a few days after the meteor shower event, cover a strong magnet with a small cellophane bag and place it in the dish, slowly sweeping the magnet across the dish (micrometeors are rich in iron and will be attracted to the magnet).

Carefully remove the magnet and place it in a second dish filled with distilled water. Remove the magnet from the bag and swish the bag around in the water until any micrometeors fall to the bottom of the plate.

The next step is to evaporate the water from the pie plate so you are just left with your micrometeors. If you do not have a hot plate, you can use the oven but be sure that your pie plate is made from Pyrex or another oven safe material.

Collect the specimens with a magnetized sewing needle and mount the specimens onto microscope slides for further investigation. We are planning to use a simple hand magnifier lens but an inexpensive digital microscope will work fine, too. Check out this previous GeekMom post if you’d like to learn more about using a digital microscope.

If anyone manages to capture any specimens, please share your photos (or stories) in the comments section of this post!

I love meteor showers, and yet, they always sneak up on me. Other than the Perseids in August and Leonids in November (both near family members’ birthdays), I can never seem to remember when they happen. Case in point: Today, “Bad Astronomer” Phil Plait tweeted about the Quadrantids peaking tonight. Of course, I had forgotten about them.

To prevent this from happening again, I thought I’d offer up a calendar of annually reoccurring meteor showers with a link to more information on meteorshowersonline.com.

If you’re a meteor lover, too, you’ll want to try to get out for the Quadrantids. Most of this year’s other predictably good shows will be washed out by bright moons.

January 1-10: Quadrantids, as mentioned above. Potentially the most visible shower this year and peaking today and tomorrow.

April 16-26: The Lyrids are not a strong shower, and this year they will be accompanied at the peak by a gibbous moon April 21-22.

April 21-May 12: The Eta Aquarids, peaking May 4-7, and the Orionids (see October) are all we get to see of Halley’s comet until 2061. This one is good for our friends in the southern hemisphere.

June 10-21: The June Lyrids, unlike many meteor showers that have been known throughout recorded history, weren’t really noticed until 1966. They will peak June 14-16.

July 14-August 18: The Delta Aquarids peak July 28-29. Like the Eta Aquarids, this one’s good if you live below the equator.

July 29-August 1: The Capricornids last quite a while, from July to September. The peak is towards the end of July and beginning of August.

July 23-August 22: The Perseids are a favorite for many and maybe the most well-known. They’re a consistent show-off, but this year they’re accompanied by a full moon at the August 12-13 peak, which will wash out the usually good show.

September 25-November 25: The South Taurids offer a slow stream, peaking November 5-6. Combined with a gibbous moon, and this one is for hard-core meteor hunters only.

October 6-10: The Draconids are not for those in the southern hemisphere, as your only viewing chance is around dawn. But for those above the equator, they’ll peak October 8-9.

October 12-December 2: Like the South Taurids, the North Taurids aren’t high in number, and there’s a gibbous moon in front of Taurus at peak. If you want to try anyway, peak is Nov. 11-12.

October 15-29: The Orionids are your second chance to look at a bit of Halley’s Comet, peaking October 21-22. And since Orion is pretty easy to spot in the night sky, you know where to look for the point of origin.

November 17-18: The Leonids are popular like the Perseids, but not as consistently great for viewing. There will be a crescent moon in Leo at peak, making this a lesser year for viewing.